All Menzies Memorial Scholars

DR KIRSTI SAMUELS
1999 Menzies Scholar in Law

Education
BSc, University of Sydney (1995).
LLB (H1), University of Sydney (1997).
Bachelor of Civil Laws, Magdalen College, Oxford (2000).
DPhil in International Law, Magdalen College, Oxford (2005): Thesis supervised by Sir Frank Berman considered the legality of civil conflicts and the impact of Security Council practice on International Law.

Current position
Consultant, Peacebuilding & Constitution-Building

Constitutional, Legislative & Anti-corruption Advisor (Global Justice Project: Iraq, University of Utah Law School, Baghdad, Iraq, June 2009-current)

Career history

Senior Program Manager, Constitution Building Processes (International IDEA,
Stockholm) (2007-2008)

International Peace Academy (IPA), New York City - an independent, international institution dedicated to promoting the prevention and settlement of armed conflicts between and within states through policy research and development.

Head of the State-Building Program (IPA) that considered the legitimacy and effectiveness of international state-building efforts (2004-2005).

Lecturership in Criminal and Contracts Law at University College (2001-2002).

Member of the Australian Permanent Delegation to UNESCO, Paris (1999).
Clerked for the Honourable Justice Michael McHugh of the Australian High Court (1998).

Solicitor (Blake Dawson Waldron Lawyers, Sydney (1997).

A placement with the Commonwealth Attorney General’s Department in the Human Rights Branch in Canberra, Australia (1996).

http://www.samuelsconsulting.org/

March 2010

DR SCOTT SANDS
2012 NHMRC/RG Menzies Fellowship

Dr Scott Sands will undertake his CJ Martin/RG Menzies Overseas Biomedical Fellowship at Harvard Medical School and later at The Alfred in Melbourne. Scott is investigating whether obstructive sleep apnea – which is extremely common in patients with heart failure – is primarrily a breathing control disorder rather than anatomical disorder in this patient group.

Scott is concurrently investigating approaches to treat those patients with a primary control disorder using a combination of non-invasive therapies to reduce each component in the pathway to control instability. Patients will be selected for successful treatment using novel techniques to assess breathing control using routine clinical signals. Ultimately the goal is to provide new insights into the mechanisms underlying sleep apnea in this vulnerable population, and provide alternative treatment options beyond those that require a mask to be worn at night.

Apr 2013

DR ARUNA SATHANAPALLY
2006 Menzies Scholar in Law

Aruna Sathanapally holds the degrees of BA and LLB from the University of NSW (2005), was placed 1/317 in her graduating class and gained the University Medal.

Aruna completed a two year BCL/MPhil at Oxford in 2010 and a DPhil in 2011. Her MPhil thesis looked at the impact of the UK Human Rights Act on Parliamentary process and deliberation. Aruna's DPhil topic considered the idea of shared human rights responsibility between democratic representatives and courts.

Current Position

McKinsey and Company, London (international consultancy)

Oct 2011

PROFESSOR JULIAN SAVULESCU
1994 Menzies Scholar in Medicine

BMedSci (Hons), MB(Hons), BS(Hons), MA, PhD FIBIOL

Current position:

Uehiro Chair in Practical Ethics, University of Oxford

Director of the Oxford Centre for Neuroethics

Director of the Institute for Science and Ethics

http://www.stx.ox.ac.uk/general/fellows/savulescu_julian

http://www.bep.ox.ac.uk/our_people/julian_savulescu

Professor Savulescu is engaged in research, education and stimulating open public discussion around the ethical issues which arise in every day life and which are related to the changes in society, particularly those related to technological advancement. He has worked broadly in the ethics of science and medicine.

Research interests:

The ethics of the new biosciences: cloning, stem cells, genetics, artificial reproduction and neuroscience.

Publications:

270 publications and over 150 invited international presentations.

Over 100 articles in journals such as the British Medical Journal, Lancet, Australasian Journal of Philosophy, Bioethics, the Journal of Medical Ethics, American Journal of Bioethics, Medical Journal of Australia and Philosophy, Psychiatry and Psychology.

Career history:

Editor, Journal of Medical Ethics
Director of the Ethics of Genetics Unit, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne
Director of the Bioethics Program, Centre for the Study of Health and Society, University of Melbourne
Chair of the Department of Human Services, Victoria, Ethics Committee
Clinical Ethicist at the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals

Aug 2011

ALISA SELIMOVIC
2009 Menzies Scholar in Engineering

Alisa Selimovic holds the degree of Bachelor of Biomedical Engineering from Flinders University with First Class Honours and the University Medal.

Alisa commenced in October 2009 a DPhil at Oxford University for three years.

Jun 2009

DR ROHAN SHEKHAR
2008 Menzies Scholar in Engineering

Rohan Shekhar holds the degree of Bachelor of Engineering (Mechatronic Engineering) from the University of Queensland with First Class Honours and the University Medal.  Rohan's final year thesis was entitled "Modelling and Automated Digging Control of a Cable Shovel".  He was subsequently employed as a research engineer working on scale modelling and automation of excavation machinery.

Rohan completed his PhD at Cambridge University.  His research focused on Variable Horizon Model Predictive Control, a technology particularly suited to the automation of vehicles. His thesis developed new theory for implementing this technology and improving its computational performance, especially in the presence of modelling uncertainty. Proof of concept was shown on a simulated surface mining machine, demonstrating the applicability of the work to areas beyond the realm of vehicle autonomy.

Rohan is currently a Research Fellow at the The University of Melbourne in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. He is looking into improving the efficiency of engines running on renewable fuels, through automated engine tuning.

Nov 2012

DR DAN SISKIND
2003 Menzies Scholar to Harvard

Dr Dan Siskind M.B.B.S., M.P.H., FRANZCP completed his medical training at the University of Queensland in Australia, and, since graduating in 1998, has completed psychiatry training programs in Australia and in the United States and is qualified as a psychiatrist in both countries.

He completed a Master of Public Health in International Health at the Harvard School of Public Health in 2005.

Aug 2008

TRACY SLATYER

2006 RG Menzies Scholar to Harvard

Tracy Slatyer holds a BPhil in Theoretical Physics with First Class Honours and the University Medal from the Australian National University. 

Tracy undertook her PhD in Theoretical Physics at the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

May 2006

JULIA SMITH
2011 RG Menzies Scholar to Harvard

Julia holds a Bachelor of Arts (Geography) with First Class Honours from Monash University. Her interest is in the field of education access and international community development.

Julia commenced her study for a Masters in International Education Policy (Education Policy Evaluation and Innovation) at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2011. 

Jun 2011

DR TINA SOUVLIS
1998 Menzies Scholar in the Allied Health Sciences

Education
Bachelor of Physiotherapy (H1) (1986), University of Queensland

MPhty, PhD

PhD project: "Opioid and non-opioid analgesia spinal manual therapy".

Current position
Manager, Research Development, Allied Health Clinical Education and Training Unit, Queensland Health

Previous position
Senior Lecturer, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Queensland

Research interests
Characterisation of the pain relief which follows spinal manual therapy; characterisation of pain in chronic musculoskeletal conditions, development of an animal model to investigate the effects of manual therapy; development of learning packages for graduate physiotherapists.

2011

BENJAMIN SPAGNOLO
2006 Menzies Scholar in Law

Ben Spagnolo holds the degrees of BA (H1) and LLB (H1) from the University of Western Australia (2005).  He was placed 1/174 in his graduating class and gained 24 prizes including the Frank Edward Parsons Prize and the HCF Keall Prize.

Ben undertook the two year BCL/MPhil at Oxford.

Oct 2006

CHRISTOPHER STAKER
1989 Menzies Scholar in Law

Qualifications

Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil), University of Oxford (public international law)
Diploma in International Commercial Arbitration (with distinction), Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London
1986 Bachelor of Laws (Honours) (First Class), University of Adelaide
1984 Bachelor of Arts, University of Adelaide (French and German)

Current position

Barrister, 39 Essex Street, London

Career history

Counsel Assisting the Solicitor-General of Australia
Principal Legal Secretary at the International Court of Justice (The Hague, Netherlands)
Senior Appeals Counsel at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (The Hague)
Deputy (Chief) Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone (Freetown, Sierra Leone).
Counsel in various prominent cases before the High Court of Australia and other Australian courts involving issues of constitutional law, administrative law and public international law.
Counsel for Australia in the International Court of Justice in the East Timor case and the Nuclear Weapons advisory opinions.
Counsel for Guinea-Bissau in the Juno Trader case before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.

Jan 2011

DAVID SUTANTO
2011 Menzies Scholar in Engineering

David Sutanto holds the degrees of Bachelor of Arts (majoring in Planning and Design) and Bachelor of Engineering (Civil Engineering) from The University of Melbourne with First Class Honours (2008).

David will undertake a MSc in Transport at Imperial College London for one year commencing in October 2011.

Sept 2010